The present invention relates generally to agricultural equipment and more particularly to a device which may be attached to a tractor and which operates to separate and distribute rolled bales of agricultural material, such as fodder crops. Generally, the device of the present invention is of the type which receives therein the material to be separated in a form of a large rolled bale and rotates the bale while drawing from the outer circumference thereof portions of material which are to be distributed along the ground. The rolled bale of material is generally formed with a horizontal axis and when feeding of cattle is desired, devices such as those of the present invention may be used for distributing the crop on a feed passage of stallings and for distributing bedding material.
Devices of the type to which the present invention relates may comprise a receiving frame with a claw array and limiting walls arranged on both sides and adapted to the diameter of the rolled bale with the horizontal center axis. In the case of known devices, for example as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,609, an exit gap is left beneath the limiting wall on the discharge side and after undoing the ties of a roll bale the latter is caused to perform a rolling movement by putting the claw array into operation. The intention is to unroll the layers of crop which are rolled up during the production of the bale and such unrolled layers are to be thrown out laterally to the exit gap. This device was not found to be satisfactory since in the case of most harvest crops the layers of the crop are not in a condition in which they can be separated again and they become entangled due to the pressing operation. The discharge of the crop would not only occur very regularly but it would also become very uncertain owing to blockage just inside the outlet gap. Furthermore, if the rolled bale were to be laid in the device against its direction of rolling up, no pulling apart could take place.
Furthermore, charging devices for conveyer blowers or the like have been proposed which accept a load of loose harvest crop from a cart for feeding it in a controlled fashion. They comprise a horizontal claw array which is horizontal or slightly inclined in the direction of discharge and is followed by an oblique conveyer which tugs off portions from the loose pile of fodder crop and throws it into the loading hopper of the following conveying unit. Such charging devices are not suitable for pulling apart rolled bales. A rolled bale would in such a case either ride back on the claw array against the direction of conveyance or it would be thrown back again by the entraining parts of the oblique conveyer if it should come up against the latter. It is neither possible nor desirable to cause the loose pile of crop to perform a rolling movement. Furthermore, there do not appear to be any suggestions as to how the problem could be solved.
On the other hand, the present invention is based upon the consideration that the cylindrical form of a rolled bale can be exploited for pulling the bale by causing the bale to perform an even rotational movement and the intention of the invention is to press a rolled bale evenly against a driven tool adapted to pull it apart, this being so not only at the beginning of the separating or pulling apart action but also later as the remaining part of the bale becomes smaller and smaller.
A further aim of the invention is to separate material from rolled bales of all fodder crops in different conditions continuously and without breakdown or stoppage while at the same time providing for an even controlled distribution. It should be of no significance in what direction of rotation the rolled bale is placed in position in the device. Furthermore, the device should be easily operated by a person sitting upon the seat of a tractor. The device itself should be low in weight and its overall breadth should be small in order to prevent obstruction when driving through gates or passages.